More than 40% of Italians want to quit euro

A new poll has found that more than 40 percent of Italians would like the country to leave the European single currency.

As Europeans prepare to go to the polls in the EU elections in May, the study, conducted by Ixè institute for the Italian broadcaster Rai3, found that 43 percent of Italians would like to return to the Italian lira, the news agency Ansa reported.

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The survey, which polled 1,000 people, found that the majority of those in favour (70 percent) were voters of Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement and 56 percent supported Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.
Meanwhile, just 28 percent of voters of the centre-left Democratic Party wanted out of the euro.
Though another study conducted earlier this year found that Italians’ trust in the EU was on the rise, it found that a large part of the electorate wanted to “re-discuss” the single currency. The study was carried out by SWG and commissioned by the Northern League.
Still, many Italians have long blamed the European Union for its woes, lamenting the euro for its stagnant economy and fall in living standards.
The Five Star Movement has called for a referendum on the currency while Forza Italia and the Northern League are also opposed to it.

The Local (news@thelocal.it)